Pregnancy update: 15 Weeks!

This past Thursday marked the start of the 15th week of my pregnancy. I thought it was about time I post an actual update instead of a 3 sentence photo caption on facebook! A lot has happened in the last few weeks. 

We met with a doula! The first time I had ever heard of a doula was on the "Family Guy" episode where Stevie is pregnant and he yells "call the doula". I am a worrier by nature and I can experience some pretty bad anxiety at times. Most recently my brain has decided to play the "freak out about possible c-section game" and now I'm really worried about it. I began researching different ways to prevent a c-section and I kept coming across articles about Doula's.

The easiest explanation I have heard of a doula is a "birth coach". They are there to help reassure you (and your partner) that everything is moving along normally. They can also help with different birthing positions and with pain management techniques, should you choose not to have an epidural. (Epidurals have been known to slow down labor and increase the risk of a c-section. Right now I don't believe I want one, but who knows how I'll want when the contractions kick in!) I asked other women for their experiences with or without a doula and the resounding answer was "get a doula!" 

We met with 2 different Doula's and decided to go with a woman named Brenda. She has been doing this for a long time and has been a doula for 70-something births. She is knowledgeable and shared her own childbirth experiences with us. During our meeting, she had to take a phone call from a woman who's contractions had been progressing throughout the day. I listened to her talk to this woman and right away I decided I liked her! She was so calm and reassuring and told her she would be right over. We will meet with Brenda a few more times before the actual birth so that we can write up a birth plan together. 

We met our doctor! Because we used IVF to conceive, most of my appointments were at the fertility center. While most women call their doctor right when they find out they're pregnant, it's a little different with IVF. They want to make sure the pregnancy looks like it is going to last before referring you to an actual obgyn. We met Dr. Brandt a couple weeks ago and when she walked out of the room, Brian and I both said " I really like her!" She was so calming and knowledgeable. She was 100% for my desire to work with a doula and said she has had some wonderful experiences in the past. 

One concern I had was that I hadn't gained any weight yet. It goes up 1 or 2 lbs and then right back down again. First off, she is the first doctor who has ever told me that I shouldn't worry too much about my weight. She said overall I am healthy and that as long as I am eating right "you're just never going to be 120lbs and that's ok" I swear I wanted to hug her! I've been overweight since I was young and every doctor has ignored any concern I have and has pretty much just told me to lose weight. She also said that I shouldn't worry too much if I don't gain weight. She said as long as the baby is growing as it should and I am eating fairly well, it isn't too big of a deal. She said some women don't gain any weight their entire pregnancy....sounds great to me! While I may not be gaining any weight, I'm definitely gaining some belly!

I am so glad that we started doing these weekly pictures so early on. It's one thing to look in a mirror every day and see my body changing, but seeing weekly pictures is a whole different story. It seems crazy that I've gotten so much bigger already and I know I'm just going to continue getting bigger for the next 25 weeks! 

We are excited to be moving into the "calm" of the second trimester and away from the uncertainty that comes along with the first trimester. Our baby is continuing to grow and I even felt him/her move for the first time earlier this week! Baby Retz can even hear our voices now! I am feeling great and anxious for the summer so we can meet our baby. 

-Emily